Louis Banks (born Dambar Bahadur Budaprithi on 11 February 1941) is an Indian film composer, record producer, keyboardist, and singer. He has often been referred to as the 'Godfather of Indian jazz'.Godfather of jazz
''

Indian Express ''The Indian Express'' is an English-language Indian daily newspaper founded in 1932. It is published in Mumbai by the Indian Express Group. In 1999, eight years after the group's founder Ramnath Goenka's death in 1991, the group was split be ...

'', 19 September 2009.

Early life

Louis Banks was born to

Indian Gorkha Indian Gorkhas also known as Nepali Indians, are Nepali language-speaking Indians. The modern term "Indian Gorkha" is used to differentiate the ethnic Gorkhas from Nepalis. Indian Gorkhas are citizens of India as per the gazette notificat ...

parents Sarswati and George Banks, a musician, in his hometown of Darjeeling. His early music education was at the hands of his father and neighbour ''Mrs. Myers''. His father Pushkar Bahadur, a Nepalese trumpeter moved to Calcutta in the early 1940s to join a European Band in the city, subsequently he changed his name to George Banks.Jazz in India
''Jazz planet'' by E. Taylor Atkins. Publisher: Univ. Press of Mississippi, 2003. . ''p. 64''. His grandfather, Bakhat Bahadur Budapirti, had composed the Nepalese national anthem '' Shreeman Gambhira Nepali'' which was the official anthem from 1962 to 2006.Ethnic Nepali is "India's Jazz King"
ejazznews.com. Tuesday, 13 December 2005. He did his schooling at St. Roberts School, Darjeeling. Sensing Banks's interest in western music when at the age of thirteen he started playing the guitar and the trumpet, his father changed his name to Louis Banks in tribute to

Louis Armstrong Louis Daniel Armstrong (August 4, 1901 – July 6, 1971), nicknamed "Satchmo", "Satch", and "Pops", was an American trumpeter and Singing, vocalist. He was among the most influential figures in jazz. His career spanned five decades and se ...

. This change of name gave the young Banks the confidence to make it big in the world of western music. He started receiving piano lessons from his father and also played in his band. Banks went to college at St. Joseph's College in

Darjeeling Darjeeling (, , ) is a town and municipality in the northernmost region of the Indian state of West Bengal. Located in the Eastern Himalayas, it has an average elevation of . To the west of Darjeeling lies the easternmost province of Nep ...

, where he continued to study piano.

Career

After college Banks moved to

Kathmandu , pushpin_map = Nepal Bagmati Province#Nepal#Asia , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivision_name1 = Bagmati Prov ...

with his father's band and decided to become a full-time musician, it was there he discovered jazz music. In the late 1960s, he performed at the Soaltee Hotel in Kathmandu, for three years. During his stay there he rejected an offer from R. D. Burman to work with him in

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the secon ...

. Not happy in Kathmandu, Banks moved base to

Calcutta Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, commer ...

in 1971, where he met singer Pam Craine and saxophonist Braz Gonsalves and formed ''The Louis Banks Brotherhood''. The band began performing at the Hindustan Hotel which led to an invitation to play at the ''Blue Fox Restaurant'', a popular night club famous for its patronage of live western music. From there on he was able to get work composing advertisement

jingle A jingle is a short song or tune used in advertising and for other commercial uses. Jingles are a form of sound branding. A jingle contains one or more hooks and meaning that explicitly promote the product or service being advertised, usually ...

s and stage musicals. In 1977, Banks approached R. D. Burman, who was a frequent visitor to the Blue Fox Restaurant and asked Burman to let him join his troupe in Mumbai, Burman happily took him in. In Mumbai, Banks was introduced to different world music genres and he was able to thrive in the rich music scene. As he cemented his place and reputation in the city he popularised live jazz at Mumbai nightclubs. In 1979, along with Goan saxophonist Braz Gonsalves he formed the 'Indo-Jazz Ensemble', composing music on

Indian classical Indian classical music is the classical music of the Indian subcontinent. It has two major traditions: the North Indian classical music known as '' Hindustani'' and the South Indian expression known as '' Carnatic''. These traditions were not ...

scales and Jazz rhythms, incorporating Indian instruments like ''

ghatam The ghaṭam ( sa, घटं ''ghaṭaṁ'', kan, ಘಟ ''ghaṭah'', ta, கடம் ''ghatam'', te, ఘటం ''ghatam'', ml, ഘടം, ''ghatam'') is a percussion instrument used in various repertoires across India. It's a varian ...

'' and '' thavil''. In February 1980, he was a member of the jazz quartet which was part of the orchestra to perform with

Ravi Shankar Ravi Shankar (; born Robindro Shaunkor Chowdhury, sometimes spelled as Rabindra Shankar Chowdhury; 7 April 1920 – 11 December 2012) was an Indian sitarist and composer. A sitar virtuoso, he became the world's best-known export of North In ...

in his noted suite ''Jazzmine'' at the 'Jazz Yatra' Festival.Jazzmine by Ravi Shankar
''The dawn of Indian music in the West: Bhairavi'', by Peter Lavezzoli. Continuum International Publishing Group, 2006. . ''p. 207, p. 311''. He also formed a group called ''Sangam'' teaming up with Carnatic classical vocalist, Ramamani and together they performed about 60 concerts all over Europe and participated in festivals, the group however was short-lived as Ramamani was from Bangalore, while Louis was based in Mumbai and the logistics became too difficult. In 2005, Banks formed a group Rhythm Asia with Taufeeq Qureshi on the

tabla A tabla, bn, তবলা, prs, طبلا, gu, તબલા, hi, तबला, kn, ತಬಲಾ, ml, തബല, mr, तबला, ne, तबला, or, ତବଲା, ps, طبله, pa, ਤਬਲਾ, ta, தபலா, te, తబల� ...

and Niladri Kumar on the

sitar The sitar ( or ; ) is a plucked stringed instrument, originating from the Indian subcontinent, used in Hindustani classical music. The instrument was invented in medieval India, flourished in the 18th century, and arrived at its present form ...

The Hindu ''The Hindu'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper owned by The Hindu Group, headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It began as a weekly in 1878 and became a daily in 1889. It is one of the Indian newspapers of record and the sec ...

, 13 April 2005. In 1988, Banks composed the tunes to the iconic ''

Mile Sur Mera Tumhara "Ek Sur" () or "Mile Sur Mera Tumhara" () as it is better known, is an Indian song and accompanying video promoting national integration and unity in diversity. The concept for ''Mile Sur'' was developed in 1988 by Lok Seva Sanchar Parishad a ...

'', a short film on national integration for

Doordarshan Doordarshan (abbreviated as DD; Hindi: , ) is an Indian public service broadcaster founded by the Government of India, owned by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and one of Prasar Bharati's two divisions. One of India's largest b ...

, at that time India's sole broadcaster. Due to its popularity, the tune has often been dubbed the unofficial Indian anthem. Banks would go on to provide music to similar patriotic short films like ''Desh raag'' and ''Spread the light of freedom''. In 1990 he composed music for the Malayalam-language experimental silent film ''

Vembanad Vembanad is the longest lake in India, as well as the largest lake in the state of Kerala. The lake has an area of 230 square kilometers and a maximum length of 96.5 km. Spanning several districts in the state of Kerala, it is known as Ve ...

''. ''India Today'' described his music as one of the highlights of the critically acclaimed film. He formed a new band called 'Silk' with

Shankar Mahadevan Shankar Mahadevan (born 3 March 1967) is an Indian singer and composer who is part of the Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy trio that writes music for Indian films. Personal life and early career Shankar Mahadevan was born in Chembur, Mumbai into a Tam ...

, Sivamani and Karl Peters. He has performed at various concerts and with well-known

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

artists such as Radha Thomas and Joe Alvares. He has provided the musical score to a number of Hindi films and two English films ''Bokshua, The Myth'' and ''God Only Knows'', a comedy satire directed by Bharat Dabholkar. He also provided the score for ''Roshni'' a musical, directed by

Alyque Padamsee Alyque Padamsee (5 March 1928 – 17 November 2018) was an Indian theatre personality and ad film maker. He played Muhammad Ali Jinnah in the 1982 British period film '' Gandhi''. Besides being involved in Indian theatre as an actor and produc ...

. He is working on a progressive fusion jazz album titled ''Labyrinth'' with his son's band Nexus.Living and breathing music
''

'', Hyderabad, 27 March 2003. His 2008 collaboration as co producer, arranger and pianist/keyboards on the album ''Miles from India'', a tribute to the founder of modern jazz

Miles Davis Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26, 1926September 28, 1991) was an American trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th-century music. Davis adopted a variety of music ...

was nominated for the

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pr ...

s 2008 in the Best Contemporary Jazz Album category. In the same category, John McLaughlin's fusion album ''Floating Point''was also nominated, Banks was the featured keyboardist on the album.Indian voices at the Grammies
Rediff.com, 5 February 2009.

Personal life

He is married to Lorraine originally from India. They have four children, Andre, Gino Banks, Neil, and Monique. Gino Banks is an accomplished drummer and member of the fusion band 'Nexus'. Banks lives and works from Juhu,

Filmography

Discography

References

External links

Interview with Louis Banks
at

The Times of India ''The Times of India'', also known by its abbreviation ''TOI'', is an Indian English-language daily newspaper and digital news media owned and managed by The Times Group. It is the third-largest newspaper in India by circulation and largest s ...

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Banks, Louis 1941 births Bollywood playback singers Indian film score composers Indian jazz musicians Indian male playback singers Indian Gorkhas Jazz composers Jazz fusion arrangers Jazz fusion musicians Jazz keyboardists Living people People from Darjeeling Indian male film score composers Male jazz composers Nepali-language singers from India